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Humanist Union Navy
__TOC__ Summary The Humanist Union Navy consists of first-line military vessels intended for combat or the support of combat. The Navy answers to to the Department of the Navy, the Department of War, and the Coordinator himself; civil defense fleets and their officers have no standing whatsoever in the naval command structure. Humanist naval doctrine currently favors larger warships supported by light destroyers and corvettes for mopping up enemy fighter/bomber assets; the navy employs no war carriers. Naval ships are tagged with "HNS" - "Humanist Naval Ship," civil defense vessels with "CDS" - "Civil Defense Ship," and civilian vessels with "CS" - "Civil Ship." Warships are undecorated save the seal of the Humanist Union and the navy, usually emblazoned near the nose of the vessel. Weaponry and Equipment Missiles Guided missiles are the primary long-range weapon utilized by Unionist vessels in space combat. Stored in large banks, they overwhelm point defense measures, armor, and shields with sheer weight of fire. Like most space-borne missile weapons, the Union utilizes "kinetic kill" platforms that obviate the need for a warhead through sheer velocity. Smaller vessels tend to use smaller missiles and launchers; these weapons have a corresponding decrease in guided range and destructive power, but are still longer-armed than unguided mass drivers. The Union does have non-kinetic missiles, but these are special task tools. ECM missiles either penetrate enemy ships at lower velocities to cripple their electronics or are detonated externally for disabling poorly-protected civilian vessels. Nuclear missiles are primarily used for heavy orbital bombarment and have multiple warheads that seed from the main platform, each capable of devastating civilian or military targets. Corvettes and destroyers often carry considerable reserves of "flak" missiles, which, fired en masse, can be incredibly dangerous against entire wings of light strike craft. Mass Drivers Mass drivers are rapid-fire electrical weapons that accelerate conductive slugs at tremendous speeds. Due to their unguided nature and the incredible ranges space combat usually occurs at, they aren't well-suited for long range combat but instead come into their own at medium or close range, where enemy ships are easier to predict and evasive maneuvering is more difficult. Their rapid-fire nature and simple, compact ammo make them extremely effective in such circumstances. Larger mass drivers, usually mounted along a considerable length of the ship's spine, fire larger projectiles at higher speeds. Firepower is tremendous, but so is power consumption and stress on the rails - firing speed is necessarily quite slow on these "skull-crackers." Mass diver fire is distinguishable by a distinctive plasma plume that follows their use. The proportion of mass drivers to missile racks on smaller vessels tends to be higher, as mass drivers are more compact and can carry deeper magazines. Laser Arrays Generally point-defense weapons, laser arrays are multi-unit tools designed to intercept incoming missile fire and small craft. Laser dispersion makes them impractical for capital ship combat, but their incredible speed, lack of ammunition, and compact nature make them well-suited for interception. When combat closes to knife-fighting range under rare circumstances, a warship with power to spare will usually lash out with its laser arrays: they're not particularly powerful, but sometimes the difference between success and failure in an engagement rests on a razor's edge. Pirates refer to naval laser arrays as "pill-poppers," due to their frequent use in destroying - or "popping" - pirate escape pods; engaging in piracy in Union space is grounds for an automatic death sentence at a commander's discretion, and few naval commanders are merciful. Autocannons Multi-barreled automatic cannons firing high-velocity streams of shells at literally thousands of rounds per minute, these weapons are archeotech by Union military standards, the know-how in their manufacture being literally milennia old. While never seen on governmental warships, they do appear in profusion among pirate and civilian vessels, to provide for offensive considerations and defensive ones respectively. Unimpressive projectile velocity means that these weapons are limited to short or knife-fighting range at best, and hits on necessarily-large magazines can devastate or destroy a vessel outright. Autocannons do still appear on third or fourth-line military vehicles that can't provide the power necessary for railguns; the long-destroyed New Havonian navy made heavy use of these weapons, to their detriment. Warships (3400) Ares-class dreadnought A titanic warship, the Ares-class is a modernization of the old republican Odysseus-class introduced just prior to the revolution. Serving on both sides of the conflict, the Ares-class embodies its namesake in all ways, delivering firepower that can quickly cripple the Union's lesser heavy warships. Modern Humanist-made Ares dreadnoughts are even more streamlined than the revolutionary model. A mere handful of Ares-class ships survived the revolution; all have been retrofitted to modern standards. The Ares itself is among this number, its wartime legacy being considered worth the considerable investment in repairs and refit that were demanded after countless battles with Republican loyalists. The Ares-class is both time and resource-consuming in its production, meaning that relatively few are in service today. Despite this and the emergence of the Revolution-class, there is no intention to retire the venerable dreadnought within the forseeable future. In Service: 10 Retired: 0 Destroyed:0 Points: 400 Vessels: HNS Ares, HNS Vigilant Revolution-class battleship The Revolution-class battleship's development came on the heels of the November-class heavy cruiser, making it the second vessel with no ties to previous warships that the Union utilizes. With the Humanist Union's navy in tatters following the Progressive Revolution, there was a great demand for heavy capital ships to spearhead the navy's large fleet actions. The post-war rebuilding saw the Ares-class's production slowed by its sheer bulk and material investment; military engineers set to work on a new warship that could be produced to fill empty slots in navy formations across the sectors. The result was the Revolution-class battleship. Thick-hulled, ugly, and bristling with weapons arrays, the Revolution-class is ponderous but deadly, capable of engaging in the most severe of fleet engagements. Quarters on a Revolution are simple but adequate, affording some degree of comfort in long-range operations relative to lighter warships. In Service: 30 Retired: 0 Destroyed: 0 Points: 200 Vessels: HNS Revolution, HNS Proletarian Anya Paterson-class battlecruiser In fact a third generation version of the positively ancient republican Durandal-class, the Anya Paterson-class - named for the famed socialist war hero - bears little resemblance to its second-generation forefather, which fought in the Progressive Revolution on both sides, or its long-ago progenitor. The republic originally embraced the doctrine of the battlecruiser out of need for a light capital ship to counterbalance its slow, expensive dreadnoughts. Humanist battlecruisers help to fill the gap for "real" battleships in a military spread thin across a wide expanse of often-hostile space, and are also used to give cruiser squadrons a much heavier knock-out punch. A heavy railgun in the ship's spine can outright destroy light warships and cripple medium ones, while tremendous banks of missile racks and mass drivers provide the rest of the vessel's considerable firepower. As a large warship, the Anya Paterson-class is able to afford decent accomodations for its crew. In Service: 50 Retired: 0 Destroyed: 0 Points: 160 Vessels: HNS Anya Paterson, HNS Liberator November-class heavy cruiser The Humanist Union's first "home-grown" warship, the November-class has no ties with earlier republican warships, unlike the lighter Broadsword-class or popular Raven-class. Designed from the ground up to embody the Humanist Union's military doctrine, the November-class has been symbolically significant since the first vessel was launched. Though not particularly more massive than the Broadsword-class, the November-class is better-armed and protected, capable of making its presence known even in heavy fleet engagements. November-class vessels often lead cruiser squadrons; their spinal railgun is significantly more powerful than the Broadsword-class's more modest model. The design's main flaw is its somewhat modest acceleration for a cruiser. Life on a November-class is close-quarters and spartan, but just as much out of Humanist military culture as out of need. In Service: 105 Retired: 0 Destroyed: 0 Points: 80 Vessels: HNS November, HNS Red Autumn Broadsword-class cruiser A redesign of the republic-era Stiletto dating back to the early days of the Union, the Broadsword-class is a slightly more conservative design that has been heavily streamlined for rapid production. Simply and efficiently built, the Broadsword-class is a workhorse vessel, performing the full range of cruiser duties adequately. Cruiser squadrons, though led by November-class vessels or even the Anya Paterson-class, often consist largely of Broadsword-class warships. The Broadsword-class is the lightest Humanist vessel to mount a spinal railgun. Compared to light warships, the Broadsword-class has far less issues with space, but life is still cramped compared to some foreign vessels or the republican Stiletto-class. In Service: 125 Retired: 0 Destroyed: 0 Points: 60 Vessels: HNS Broadsword, HNS Cossack Raven-class destroyer The workhorse of the Humanist Union's light ships, the Raven-class serves generally as a fleet screen and as a hunter for smaller warships. Nearly as numerous as the smaller, more lightly-built Sparrow-class, the Raven-class often works alongside those corvettes in border patrols or pirate-hunting "wolf packs." Like the Sparrow, the Raven-class is well-suited to dealing with fightercraft and gunships, and has an impressive acceleration profile. Not a few voices in the navy have suggested retiring the Sparrow-class entirely in favor of the more capable and modern Raven-class. The ease with which the Sparrow-class can be produced and the necessary retooling such a choice would entail has led to such a decision being postponed. Life on a Raven-class vessel, like life on many small warships, leaves little room for comfort or privacy. In Service: 150 Retired: 0 Destroyed: 0 Points: 40 Vessels: HNS Raven, HNS Fury Sparrow-class corvette The Sparrow-class, despite its unimpressive size and age, is a ship of numerous roles: scout, fleet screen, pirate interceptor, picket ship. Though certainly not equipped to engage heavy warships, they can serve as shepards even in large fleets, swatting fightercraft and gunships and scouting ahead of larger forces to spring traps. In peacetime, the Union's numerous Sparrows patrol the spaceways for pirates, smugglers, and foreign interlopers, arresting them or destroying them without mercy. Where too large a threat presents itself, the Sparrow's impressive acceleration profile and communications array allow it to retreat and call for assistance. Quarters on the Sparrow are cramped to the point of being uncomfortable; even high-ranking officers have little living space. More modern hulls have alleviated this issue somewhat. In Service: 160 Retired: 0 Destroyed: 0 Points: 25 Vessels: HNS Sparrow, HNS Bloodhound Lightbringer-class corvette Though referred to by the Humanist Union as a corvette, the Lightbringer-class, named in honor of a ship that played a significant symbolic role in the Progressive Revolution, would probably be classified as a military yacht by most nations. Lightbringers are a "swiss army knife" craft apparently intended for the purpose of ferrying diplomatic representatives of the state. However, they are also equipped with sophisticated sensor and stealth equipment that reveals their second - and more important - role: that of a stealth scout. Relatively untested in both roles, Union engineers eagerly await the fruit of their efforts. Lightbringers are not intended for combat and sport poor weapons and defenses. Though they can hold off pirate fightercraft and some converted civilian ships, their main defense is to withdraw from combat at high speed. Quarters on a Lightbringer are spartan but not uncomfortable, befitting its role in diplomacy and cultural attitudes in the Union. In Service: 25 Retired: 0 Destroyed: 0 Points: 4 Vessels: HNS Lightbringer, HNS Wanderer Civilian Ships JIS-101/HCI-1L "Mule" An ultralight freighter design dating back decades before the revolution. A product of Janeston Interstellar Shipyards (since nationalized and reformed as Humanist Civil Interstellar), this freighter's typical role is hauling small quantities of goods between sectors. Not all that well-armed or armored, most Mules carry enough defensive measures to stave off light attacks from fighter-scale craft only. Newer models have an updated power distribution system less likely to fail if the central trunk is damaged in an attack. HCI-1Ls often belong to independent operators or small cooperatives, unlike bulk freighters. HCI-1M "Boxcar" So-named for the ship's distinctive cargo section, the HCI-1M is a stereotypical medium freighter, and one of the most common civilian bulk carriers found in the Humanist Union. Boxcars are generally used for shipping between more established settlements, whose consumption and production requires larger shipments and which usually have appropriate spaceport facilities. Like all civilian craft, it is poorly armed and armored, only able to fend off light pirates. The design's bulk makes it a popular choice for refitting with weapons instead of cargo among pirate "fleets" that operate in Union space. Almost all Boxcars operate under the authority of state-owned shipping interests, frequently with crews consisting of individuals enrolled in the union's civil service (an alternative to military service). Criminal Ships Pirate Pursuit Ship Usually built on the hulls of Mules or other light civilian craft, the pursuit ship - or "chaser" - is a vessel tasked with running down and locking down vessels travelling in hyperspace, guiding them carefully out at chosen ambush points. Pirate pursuit ships have larger-than-normal hyperdrives, a necessity in wrestling often-larger prey out of hyperspace; sometimes larger vessels are needed for this task nonetheless. Badly armed and protected, pursuit ships have little room for captured cargo, devoting all of their space to their assigned task. Pirate Strikeboat While the Humanist Union navy frowns upon fighter and bombercraft in space engagements, pirates are not so choosy. Pirate strikeboats are typically ungainly fighter/bomber hybrids loaded with as many munitions as the frame can carry. As most pirate ships lack flight decks, they're often deployed from crude "branches" fastened to the docking ports of pirate warships. Naval and civil defense authorities look down upon these vessels, derisively referring to them as "gnats." Pirate Gunship Usually converted Mules or similar vessels, pirate gunships - commonly called "bumblebees" or just "bees" - are ungainly vessels packed with missiles and autocannon, with relatively little cargo space. Such vessels necessarily operate with cargo craft for the purpose of hauling looted goods and salvagable scrap. While uparmored and better-shielded than the typical civilian craft they are built from, they are no match even for a basic military corvette save in large numbers. Their "sting-and-die" nature, combined with their awkward bulk, has earned them their name. Pirate Frigate Built usually on the hulls of medium freighters, pirate "frigates" compare poorly to their built-for-war counterparts in firepower, defensive power, and often size. Far more space efficient than pirate gunships, they can still carry enough loot to support their crew and vessel, save in the most extreme circumstances: pirate frigates that give up everything for guns and armor are usually instead called pirate "destroyers." In keeping with the theme started in the common pirate gunship's nickname, pirate frigates are called "wasps" or "heavy wasps" depending on their "frigate" or "destroyer" status. Pirate Cruiser Fairly uncommon, pirate cruisers are usually built on the hulls of heavy freighters that have been hollowed out to carry weapons, shield generators, and sometimes flight decks for pirate strike craft. Pirate cruisers tend to vary wildly in their space-to-weaponry ratio depending on the original frame and the vessel's history, but none compare to true warships in their class. Still, a pirate cruiser is one of the few vessels criminals can get their hands on that poses a threat to genuine warships. Again in keeping with previously-established themes, pirate cruisers are called "queens" in naval slang, often for their position of honor as pirate fleet flagships. Category:Space Navy Category:Humanist Union